In the 1950s, television was just beginning to tighten its grip on the American consciousness. People tuned in to blockbuster television shows such as "I Love Lucy," "Dragnet" and "Lassie" in droves, and advertisers began to peddle their wares accordingly. Commercials for all kinds of food products hit the airwaves, from cereal and snack foods, to beer and cigarettes.

Though some ads were aimed at children, commercials targeted to (and meant only for) children had yet to come into their own; most commercials were aimed at the parents, with promises of high nutrition and good value (especially after all of the rationing that WWII brought). This emphasis on wholesome attributes was tempered with commercials that exuded a classy, aspirational air, especially for the more "adult" products, or when centered around more adult activities like going to the theater. Below, we've collected six of our favorite food commercials from the 50s.

If you're imagining smoky boardrooms filled with well-suited men drinking martinis and cheating on their wives, well, that's Mad Men, and that's the '60s, so you're gonna have to wait. The '50s were more about the post-WWII upheaval in culture and technology, and what America drank also reflected these shifts. Here are some of the drinks that were popular during the 1950s:

The 1950s were a crossover period for cookbooks, when graphics were about half hand-drawn illustrations and half super-saturated photographs, such as the one above. If the aesthetic appears rather commercial to you, that's no mistake: many of the cookbooks from this era were produced by companies to promote their products, most famous of which is the Betty Crocker series for General Mills. Below, we explore the colorful world of 1950s food imagery. (Warning: image heavy post.)

Food is usually categorized geographically, or culturally; cuisines are associated with nations or peoples. Here at Eat Me Daily we are dedicated to bringing you new and interesting ways of looking at what you eat, and thus we present our chronological guide to American gastronomy. Over the next several months, we'll look at the foods that rocked America, decade by decade. Up first: the 1950s

The 1950s were a busy time for American cuisine. We've created a timeline of important events in the 50s to help put in perspective the amazing people, places and businesses that rose to prominence later in the century. These events not only affected the cuisine and culture of the decade itself, but also affected the cuisine in the decades that followed. We hope to expand this timeline as we learn more about this decade (hopefully with your help!), but a decent start is below the jump.

Food is usually categorized geographically, or culturally; cuisines are associated with nations or peoples. Here at Eat Me Daily we are dedicated to bringing you new and interesting ways of looking at what you eat, and thus we present our chronological guide to American gastronomy. Over the next several months, we'll look at the foods that rocked America, decade by decade. Up first: The 1950s

The 1950s may not be the most obvious place to begin a series on dining history; the next decade may seem to have had much more influence on American cuisine as we know it today. However, to know where you've arrived is to know where you came from, and thus we begin this series with the 50s largely as a point of comparison for the gastronomic advances that follow. While mid-century food is not necessarily known for being gourmet, it was arguably a time when the many American food staples were introduced. Fast food became common, with chains such as McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken spreading across the country. Foods of convenience, such as TV dinners and instant drink mixes, became prevalent as products aimed at the American housewife sought to streamline house work.

It was also a time when many of the founders of American gastronomic culture got their star. Julia Child, along with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, began their L'école des trois gourmandes in 1951, and Craig Claiborne joined The New York Times as food editor in 1957. Many of James Beard's volumes on barbecue were released in the 50s, including The Complete Book of Barbecue and Rotisserie Cooking (1954; buy it) and The Complete Book of Outdoor Cookery (1955).

The seeds of a culinary revolution were planted in the 1950s, and over the next few weeks we'll explore various facets of that decade. Below, we delve into the past to see how they envisioned our present with Kitchens of the Future.